Elon Musk is now Twitter’s largest shareholder. He bought 9.2 percent of all shares. He is already planning a first change.
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Elon Musk now owns a large stake in Twitter
© Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock.com
Elon Musk has struck again: Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk has spent a large sum on Twitter shares. So much so that he now owns 9.2 percent of all shares in Twitter. This makes Elon Musk the largest shareholder in Twitter and owns significantly more shares than Twitter founder Jack Dorsey (2.3 percent).
It is unclear exactly how much money Musk invested in buying Twitter shares. The news of the purchase of the shares caused the value of Twitter shares to rise by more than 20 percent on Monday. Based on the current price, the shares Musk holds from Twitter are now worth around 3.2 billion euros. An increase of over 500 million euros compared to the end of last week.
Elon Musk previously criticized Twitter
Musk recently tweeted several tweets about Twitter, fueling speculation that he was planning to set up his own social network. Specifically, a Twitter user had asked the question:
“Would you consider building a new social media platform, @elonmusk? One that consists of an open-source algorithm, one that prioritizes free speech and respect for free speech, one that where propaganda is very low. I think such a platform is necessary.”
Musk
answered
At the end of last week with:
“I’m seriously considering it”
At that time he should have already made the decision whether he wanted to buy Twitter shares or not. Two days earlier, on March 25, Musk had one
poll tweeted
, which 72 percent answered “no.” The question was:
“Freedom of speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you think Twitter strictly adheres to this principle?”
And on March 26th
explained
Musk:
“Considering that Twitter serves as a de facto public marketplace, failure to uphold the principles of free speech fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
What does Musk intend to do with Twitter now?
It remains to be seen what Musk is really up to with his stock power over Twitter. It is rather unlikely that Musk will specifically intervene in the day-to-day business of Twitter. But he can exert even more influence in the future. So far, Musk, with over 80.4 million followers, has owned his
Twitter channel @elonmusk
to the most important Twitter channels at all.
Musk is likely to use this voice, coupled with his Twitter shares, to bring about changes on Twitter in the future. Musk also demonstrated what this could look like on Tuesday night (German time). In a survey on Twitter, he asked his followers whether they would like an edit button for tweets.
Do you want an edit button?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Over 2.1 million Twitter users have already taken part in the survey. Over 70 percent want the editing function. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if Twitter rolls out this feature in the near future thanks to Musk.
